B. George Ulizio's copy of the first edition of Sister Carrie (1900) bears Theodore Dreiser's inscription citing the collector's "vigorous and forthright approach to life." Dreiser indulged in understatement. Ulizio's capacity to dominate all of his endeavors is documented by his bibliophilia. A self-made man, he was a self-made bookman.

Born in New Haven, Connecticut, on 2 February 1889, Ulizio attended parochial schools. After working as a waiter in New York he became a Wall Street runner. He was wounded in World War I and in his late years required the use of two canes. During the 1920s he was operating in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia as a real-estate and bond broker. His other activities included play bookings (What Price Glory"), sports promotion (he built the stadium at Boyle's Thirty Acres for the Dempsey-Carpentier "Battle of the Century"), and the Republican party (he was campaign manager for Sen. Joseph...